(RepublicanInformer.com)- Last Wednesday, the Louisiana House’s Committee for the Administration of Criminal Justice voted to advance a bill that would make all abortions illegal from the point of conception until birth.
The “Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act of 2022” would “fully recognize the human personhood of an unborn child” through all stages from conception to birth. The proposed bill would also amend Louisiana’s existing homicide statute to include abortion.
Currently, Louisiana is one of 13 states that has what is called a “trigger law” that would allow the state to enforce a ban on all abortions in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned.
The “Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act” was authored by state Rep. Danny McCormick in March who said at the time that the state cannot wait for the Supreme Court to deliver a ruling on Roe.
In a statement after the bill advanced out of committee, McCormick described it as a “huge victory” and the first time a bill ending abortion has made it this far in the process.
But advancing out of the committee is only the first step of many necessary for this bill to become law. And there will be plenty of opposition along the way.
Opponents of the bill said as written the legislation would permit criminal prosecution, not just for the abortion provider, but for the mother as well. That is likely to be a problem even among pro-life voters.
The legislation, which advanced out of committee in a 7-2 vote, will now move to the full Louisiana House of Representatives for consideration.
If the bill passes the Republican-led House, it would then move to the Republican-led Senate.
But unless it passes with a veto-proof majority, the “Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act of 2022” won’t ever see the light of day.
Though his office refuses to comment on pending legislation, it is unlikely Louisiana’s Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards will sign such a bill into law.
And on the outside chance that the legislature can override any likely veto and the bill becomes law, pro-abortion groups will not waste time suing to block its implementation.
